20120725 1616 Global Markets & Commodities Related News.

GLOBAL MARKETS: Asian shares fell as soaring borrowing costs deepened worries that Spain might need a bailout, while Greece appeared unlikely to meet conditions of its aid package. European shares were set to fall for a fourth straight session on mounting concerns that Spain, the euro zone's fourth-largest economy, might need a full international bailout and Greece would struggle to meet the terms of its aid package. Wall Street stocks fell on Tuesday, hit by signs the euro zone crisis is worsening and evidence that Europe's slowdown is hurting U.S. companies, including bellwether UPS.

Spain feels debt heat, Greece way off bailout terms
Spain paid the second highest yield on short-term debt since the birth of the euro at an auction on Tuesday, and EU officials said Greece had little hope of meeting the terms of its bailout, casting fresh doubt on its future in the euro zone.

Moody's cuts outlook on EU stability facility to negative
Moody's Investors Service has changed the outlook on the provisional (P)Aaa long-term rating of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to negative from stable, a blow to a fund that was supposed to backstop struggling EU members.

FOREX: The euro hovered near two-year lows in Asia as investors gave it and risk currencies a wide berth after a sell-off in global stocks amid mounting fears that debt-ridden Spain will need a bailout.

FOREX-Euro hovers near 2-year lows as Spanish worries unabated
TOKYO, July 25 (Reuters) - The euro hovered near two-year lows on Wednesday in Asia as investors gave it and risk currencies a wide berth after a sell-off in global stocks amid mounting fears that debt-ridden Spain will need a bailout.
Spiking Spanish borrowing costs are fuelling fears for the region's stability, and European Union officials said Greece had little hope of meeting the terms of its bailout.

CME members get 60-day extension for new margin rules
The CME Group  has been granted a second extension by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission before imposing controversial new rules that will increase margins for its non-hedge, or spec, members, a CME spokesman said on Tuesday.

GRAINS: U.S. new-crop soybeans edged lower, falling for a third straight session with forecasts of rain in parts of the Midwest offering some relief as the crop enters its yield-determining phase.

Rains give mild relief to US drought, grain prices tumble
Welcome rains provided some relief to heat-stressed cities and worried farmers in the U.S. Midwest on Tuesday, but reports of failed crops, wildfires and other fallout from the worst U.S. drought in more than 50 years tempered any optimism.


Pakistan starts to speed up wheat sales
HAMBURG, July 23 (Reuters) - About 40,000 tonnes of Pakistani wheat has been sold in the last two weeks to buyers in countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and East Africa, traders said on Monday.
The deals show Pakistan is starting to speed up wheat sales following a slow start to its export season which starts around late May.

China-Canada oil deal shows more U.S. drilling needed -Senator

Republican senators will unveil new energy legislation on Thursday that will help battle a new move by China to tap North American energy resources, Senator John Hoeven said.

OIL: Brent hovered around $103 a barrel as worries about oil demand from the troubled euro zone and the United States offset any gains to prices sparked by concerns about oil supply from the Middle East.


Euro Coal-Prices steady, more China defaults seen
LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Physical prompt coal prices were little changed on Tuesday, supported by oil's rise towards $104, but were set to come under renewed downward pressure in coming weeks because of another wave of Chinese defaults and forced price re-negotiation, traders and utilities said.
"I thought the South African price had reached a floor of $85 a tonne but with China, the situation with defaults has become so much worse in the past two weeks, prices have got to fall further," one Asia-based trader said.

Coal output to shrink as mining margins in retreat
LONDON, July 24 (Reuters) - Global coal output is set to shrink over the next year or two as miners grapple with a combination of low prices driven by cheaper alternatives, weak demand, and cost and currency headwinds.
Output has already begun to fall, but so far only by a couple of millions of tonnes - a tiny fraction of the global annual seaborne coal trade of 750 million. Analysts and industry executives say cuts could soon reach dozens of millions of tonnes to bring supply in line with weaker demand in China and Europe.

METALS-Copper steadies from one-month low; debt woes weigh

SINGAPORE, July 25 (Reuters) - London copper fell to a one-month low on Wednesday as renewed worries over Greek and Spanish sovereign debt hit risk appetite and curbed expectations of metals demand, before erasing losses alongside the euro to trade little changed.
Soaring borrowing costs for Spain and concerns that Greece may not meet its bailout terms fueled jitters about the euro zone, knocking fragile confidence after a report showed an improving economic picture in China on Tuesday.

PRECIOUS-Gold edges higher for 2nd day, stimulus hopes support
SINGAPORE, July 25 (Reuters) - Gold inched higher on Tuesday, extending gains into a second straight session as poor economic data from both sides of the Atlantic helped raise hopes for further monetary stimulus measures, which would increase gold's appeal as an inflation hedge.
The latest figures showed that the U.S. and euro zone economies were still struggling in July, and a Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Federal Reserve was close to taking new steps to boost U.S. economic growth.

BASE METALS: London copper fell to a one-month low as renewed worries over Greek and Spanish sovereign debt hit risk appetite and curbed expectations of metals demand.

PRECIOUS METALS: Gold inched higher, extending gains into a second straight session as poor economic data from both sides of the Atlantic helped raise hopes for further monetary stimulus measures, which would increase gold's appeal as an inflation hedge.


Iron Ore-Prices decline further as gloomy outlook bites
SHANGHAI, July 25 (Reuters) - Spot iron ore prices extended their losing streak to touch an eight-month low, as free-falling prices and a gloomy demand outlook kept Chinese buyers at bay.
"I think the reality is that China can't be expected to keep growing at 200 kilometres per hour and carry the global economy," said Jonathan Claesen, a trader with Metalmin which is a major supplier of minerals to China.

Baltic index down; capesize, panamax rates lower
July 24 (Reuters) - The Baltic Exchange's main sea freight index, tracking rates for ships carrying dry commodities, fell on Tuesday as rates for both capesize and panamax vessels softened.
"We continue to expect the oversupply of tonnage to keep dry bulk rates under pressure over the near-to-intermediate-term, with the high probability of near-term restructurings potentially keeping equities under pressure," Wells Fargo analyst Michael Webber said in a weekly note.